China once again repeated its “strong protest” to the Tokyo envoy during talks between senior officials in the Chinese capital regarding the diplomatic row between the two countries over Taiwan.
“During the consultations, China once again expressed strong protest to Japan over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s false statements regarding China” and Taiwan, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said. Masaaki Kanai, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Maritime Affairs Bureau, met with his Chinese counterpart Liu Jinsong today.
Japan has warned its Chinese compatriots to be careful of their surroundings and avoid large gatherings, amid a dispute between the two countries that emerged over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan. The move, following Beijing’s call to its citizens not to travel to the Land of the Rising Sun, urged them to “pay attention to their surroundings and avoid as much as possible places where many people gather or are frequented by many Japanese people,” the Japanese Embassy in China warned in a note on its website and sent to fellow Japanese residents.
Minoru Kihara, the Japanese government’s chief of staff, explained that the notification to his compatriots was decided and issued “based on a comprehensive assessment of the political situation, including the security situation in the country or region concerned, as well as social conditions.” The diplomatic clash, the worst between the two countries since 2012, was sparked by the prime minister’s remarks, in a parliamentary session on November 7, raised the possibility of Tokyo’s military intervention in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan on the basis of “collective self-defense”. Beijing, angered by comments deemed “inappropriate”, considers Taipei to be a “sacred” and “inalienable” part of its territory to be reunited even with the use of force, if necessary.
Reproduction protected by law © Copyright ANSA
